80 MILLION

DIRECTOR: Waldemar Krzystek - POLAND

80 Million is set in the autumn of 1981, 10 days before the proclamation of martial law in Poland. Three members of the anti-Communist union movement in Wroclaw miraculously manage to withdraw 80 million zlotys (circa $2 million US then) from the organization’s bank account, just before it is blocked by the authorities. With Security Service agents on their trail, a tense cat-and-mouse game that involves wily clergy, black market money changes, and committed Solidarity activists unfolds with inspirational drama and surprising twists and turns. Less a political film than a heist-thriller and dark comedy, this entertaining film is this...

80 Million is set in the autumn of 1981, 10 days before the proclamation of martial law in Poland. Three members of the anti-Communist union movement in Wroclaw miraculously manage to withdraw 80 million zlotys (circa $2 million US then) from the organization’s bank account, just before it is blocked by the authorities. With Security Service agents on their trail, a tense cat-and-mouse game that involves wily clergy, black market money changes, and committed Solidarity activists unfolds with inspirational drama and surprising twists and turns. Less a political film than a heist-thriller and dark comedy, this entertaining film is this year’s Polish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (102 mins.)

BARFI!

DIRECTOR: Anurag Basu - INDIA

In this timeless, enchanting fable, rising Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor gives a winning performance as a deaf-mute man whose life is a series of comic and tragic misadventures. Dedicated to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the nearly wordless Barfi! follows the resourceful title character as he falls in and out of love with the beautiful Shruti, whose parents pressure her into a respectable arranged marriage. Later, he finds love again with the autistic Jhilmil—whose father plots to defraud her of a sizable trust fund—only for Shruti to unexpectedly reenter his life. In between, Barfi finds himself caught up in a...

In this timeless, enchanting fable, rising Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor gives a winning performance as a deaf-mute man whose life is a series of comic and tragic misadventures. Dedicated to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the nearly wordless Barfi! follows the resourceful title character as he falls in and out of love with the beautiful Shruti, whose parents pressure her into a respectable arranged marriage. Later, he finds love again with the autistic Jhilmil—whose father plots to defraud her of a sizable trust fund—only for Shruti to unexpectedly reenter his life. In between, Barfi finds himself caught up in a bank robbery, two botched kidnappings, and all other manner of slapstick mayhem. This broadly entertaining treat for film lovers of all ages is this year’s Indian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (151 mins.)

BEYOND THE HILLS

DIRECTOR: Cristian Mungiu - ROMANIA

Based on a real-life case of supposed demonic possession, Mungiu’s gripping existential drama takes place at a remote Orthodox monastery in Moldavia where devout young women give up all. Alina (Cristina Flutur) arrives to visit her meek friend Voichita (Cosmina Stratan), a nun in training, and desperately tries to convince her to return to Germany with her. But Voichita is unsure, and so the tougher but untethered Alina hangs around in hopes of prevailing. But as the days pass, the oppressive environment takes a further toll on Alina and her sense of identity. Soon, the conflict between personal empowerment and...

Based on a real-life case of supposed demonic possession, Mungiu’s gripping existential drama takes place at a remote Orthodox monastery in Moldavia where devout young women give up all. Alina (Cristina Flutur) arrives to visit her meek friend Voichita (Cosmina Stratan), a nun in training, and desperately tries to convince her to return to Germany with her. But Voichita is unsure, and so the tougher but untethered Alina hangs around in hopes of prevailing. But as the days pass, the oppressive environment takes a further toll on Alina and her sense of identity. Soon, the conflict between personal empowerment and religious dogma leads to a harrowing prescription. For their remarkable lead performances, Flutur and Stratan shared the Best Actress Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. (150 mins.)

Selected Filmography: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (07), Tales from the Golden Age (09)

This year’s Romanian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

BLANCANIEVES

DIRECTOR: Pablo Berger - SPAIN

This year’s Spanish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is a 1920s, silent-set reworking of the Brothers Grimm fairytale “Snow White,” offset by punchy Flamenco rhythms and full of imagination. Rejected at birth by her father, Carmencita (Macarena Garciá) is raised by her grandmother. But when her grandmother dies, the poor dark-haired maiden is sent to the lower depths of her evil stepmother’s villa. Maribel Verdú (Y Tu Mamá También) gives an ingeniously smart, campy performance as the villainess, hell-bent on keeping Carmencita from Prince Charming—here a bullfighting dwarf!—and thwarting her dreams of becoming a matador.“ While Michel...

This year’s Spanish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is a 1920s, silent-set reworking of the Brothers Grimm fairytale “Snow White,” offset by punchy Flamenco rhythms and full of imagination. Rejected at birth by her father, Carmencita (Macarena Garciá) is raised by her grandmother. But when her grandmother dies, the poor dark-haired maiden is sent to the lower depths of her evil stepmother’s villa. Maribel Verdú (Y Tu Mamá También) gives an ingeniously smart, campy performance as the villainess, hell-bent on keeping Carmencita from Prince Charming—here a bullfighting dwarf!—and thwarting her dreams of becoming a matador.“ While Michel Hazanavicius’s Oscar winner, The Artist, was a playful valentine to pre-talkies Hollywood, Spanish writer-director Berger’s inventive Andalusian tale is a love letter to 1920s European silent film, effortlessly mixing humor and melodrama in delightful fashion.”—Hollywood Reporter(90 mins.)

BLOOD OF MY BLOOD

DIRECTOR: João Canijo - PORTUGAL

This year’s Portuguese submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and a critical and popular hit in Portugal, Canijo’s film balances nuanced social realism and intense melodrama to fashion a sprawling, humane portrait of a troubled working class family. Márcia is a weary matriarch who lives with her lonely sister Ivete and grown children—delinquent Joca and nursing student Cláudia—in suburban Lisbon. Cláudia’s affair with a married professor and Joca’s involvement with drug dealers threaten Márcia’s attempts to keep her family afloat. Employing tracking shots and overlapping dialogue, Canijo follows the family through the cramped spaces of the household, mapping...

This year’s Portuguese submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and a critical and popular hit in Portugal, Canijo’s film balances nuanced social realism and intense melodrama to fashion a sprawling, humane portrait of a troubled working class family. Márcia is a weary matriarch who lives with her lonely sister Ivete and grown children—delinquent Joca and nursing student Cláudia—in suburban Lisbon. Cláudia’s affair with a married professor and Joca’s involvement with drug dealers threaten Márcia’s attempts to keep her family afloat. Employing tracking shots and overlapping dialogue, Canijo follows the family through the cramped spaces of the household, mapping the physical and emotional distances between the characters in a way that lends a sense of vivid vérité. (131 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Get A Life (01), In the Darkness of the Night (04), Misbegotten (07)

CAESAR MUST DIE

DIRECTOR: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani - ITALY

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and this year’s Italian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Caesar Must Die deftly melds narrative and documentary in a powerful drama-within-a-drama. In Rome’s Rebibbia prison, the prisoners prepare to stage Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and in exploring the text find a tale of fraternity, power, and betrayal that parallels their own lives and stories. Seamlessly moving in and out of the text as they wrestle with notions of necessity and the boundaries of order, drama comes alive on multiple, and timeless, levels. “This latest masterpiece from Italy’s famed...

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and this year’s Italian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Caesar Must Die deftly melds narrative and documentary in a powerful drama-within-a-drama. In Rome’s Rebibbia prison, the prisoners prepare to stage Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and in exploring the text find a tale of fraternity, power, and betrayal that parallels their own lives and stories. Seamlessly moving in and out of the text as they wrestle with notions of necessity and the boundaries of order, drama comes alive on multiple, and timeless, levels. “This latest masterpiece from Italy’s famed Taviani brothers not only serves as a deeply human document but a caustic portrait of our own imprisoned societies, reminding us that a life without art truly is a prison.”—AFI Fest (76 mins.)

CLANDESTINE CHILDHOOD

DIRECTOR: Benjamín Ávila - ARGENTINA

Ávila’s partly autobiographical account of his upbringing is a moving portrait of adolescent life in politically tumultuous 1970s Argentina. After years of exile, 12-year-old Juan and his family cautiously return to Buenos Aires with fake identities. Juan’s parents are members of the Montoneros organization, fighting against the ruling military junta. His friends at school know him as Ernesto, and as he tries to make friends and lead a normal life, he knows his life depends on him not forgetting who he really is. Ávila’s powerful portrait of childhood innocence at odds with life-or-death political ideals won the Casa de America...

Ávila’s partly autobiographical account of his upbringing is a moving portrait of adolescent life in politically tumultuous 1970s Argentina. After years of exile, 12-year-old Juan and his family cautiously return to Buenos Aires with fake identities. Juan’s parents are members of the Montoneros organization, fighting against the ruling military junta. His friends at school know him as Ernesto, and as he tries to make friends and lead a normal life, he knows his life depends on him not forgetting who he really is. Ávila’s powerful portrait of childhood innocence at odds with life-or-death political ideals won the Casa de America Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and is this year’s Argentine submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (112 mins.)

IN THE SHADOW

DIRECTOR: David Ondříĉek - CZECH REPUBLIC

In 1950s Prague, police detective Hakl is investigating a jewelry store heist, until East German State police specialist Zenke arrives and takes over. Zenke believes that members of the Jewish community are responsible and that an underground ring may be smuggling funds to Zionist terrorists in Israel. Unconvinced, Hakl continues his own investigation. But which version of the truth do the Communist authorities prefer to find? Ondříĉek spins a suspenseful noir tale of standing up to the mistrust and fear in Stalinist, postwar Czechoslovakia. (106 mins.)

In 1950s Prague, police detective Hakl is investigating a jewelry store heist, until East German State police specialist Zenke arrives and takes over. Zenke believes that members of the Jewish community are responsible and that an underground ring may be smuggling funds to Zionist terrorists in Israel. Unconvinced, Hakl continues his own investigation. But which version of the truth do the Communist authorities prefer to find? Ondříĉek spins a suspenseful noir tale of standing up to the mistrust and fear in Stalinist, postwar Czechoslovakia. (106 mins.)

JUST THE WIND

DIRECTOR: Benedek Fliegauf - HUNGARY

This year’s Hungarian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar chronicles the final days of a Romany family living in a provincial Hungarian backwater. Hoping to reunite with their father in Canada before the ethnic violence that has recently claimed many neighbors’ lives finds them too, time is growing short as the authorities turn a blind eye to the persecution. Fliegauf blends neo-realistic elements—the actors are non-professionals recruited from local villages—with atmospheric sound design and expressionistic use of music. “The film’s three leads are tracked by a roving camera in a naturalistic style reminiscent of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant;...

This year’s Hungarian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar chronicles the final days of a Romany family living in a provincial Hungarian backwater. Hoping to reunite with their father in Canada before the ethnic violence that has recently claimed many neighbors’ lives finds them too, time is growing short as the authorities turn a blind eye to the persecution. Fliegauf blends neo-realistic elements—the actors are non-professionals recruited from local villages—with atmospheric sound design and expressionistic use of music. “The film’s three leads are tracked by a roving camera in a naturalistic style reminiscent of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant; as in that film, the mundane is contrasted with the horrific, here highlighting the ingrained nature of racism and the isolating effects of poverty.”—Sydney Film Festival (86 mins.)

KEEP SMILING

DIRECTOR: Rusudan Chkonia - GEORGIA

Writer/director Chkonia brings a woman’s eye to this satiric tragicomedy, set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, that tells the story of 10 desperate housewives and their fierce rivalry to win a beauty contest—one open only to mothers with three or more children. Competing in five categories pigeonholing women, including “Best Cook” and “Super Mom,” the grand prize is a coveted apartment and $25,000. But dreams soon vanish as realization dawns that the competition is a scam and all they are getting are media hounds, chauvinist pigs, and their own domestic nightmares. This heartfelt story, filled with equal measures of...

Writer/director Chkonia brings a woman’s eye to this satiric tragicomedy, set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, that tells the story of 10 desperate housewives and their fierce rivalry to win a beauty contest—one open only to mothers with three or more children. Competing in five categories pigeonholing women, including “Best Cook” and “Super Mom,” the grand prize is a coveted apartment and $25,000. But dreams soon vanish as realization dawns that the competition is a scam and all they are getting are media hounds, chauvinist pigs, and their own domestic nightmares. This heartfelt story, filled with equal measures of humor and humanism, is this year’s Georgian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and offers a multi-faceted look at contemporary Georgia. (94 mins.)

KON-TIKI

DIRECTOR: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg - NORWAY

Thor Heyerdahl’s intrepid 1947 journey across the Pacific on a primitive raft, made famous by his own book and documentary, comes alive in this spirited, visually dazzling epic. Ethnographer Heyerdahl (who couldn’t swim and had never sailed!), along with a motley crew, constructs a hemp and balsa wood raft inspired by the pre-Columbian Incas as a means of proving his theory that the Polynesian Islands were settled by South Americans crossing the 4,000-mile Pacific. What follows is the Peru-to-Polynesia excursion, which co-directors Rønning and Sandberg—employing a crew of hundreds and technological magic—fill with high-seas adventure and nail-biting suspense, set against...

Thor Heyerdahl’s intrepid 1947 journey across the Pacific on a primitive raft, made famous by his own book and documentary, comes alive in this spirited, visually dazzling epic. Ethnographer Heyerdahl (who couldn’t swim and had never sailed!), along with a motley crew, constructs a hemp and balsa wood raft inspired by the pre-Columbian Incas as a means of proving his theory that the Polynesian Islands were settled by South Americans crossing the 4,000-mile Pacific. What follows is the Peru-to-Polynesia excursion, which co-directors Rønning and Sandberg—employing a crew of hundreds and technological magic—fill with high-seas adventure and nail-biting suspense, set against majestic cinematography and the vastness of the ocean. (118 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Bandidas (06), Max Manus: Man of War (08)

This year’s Norwegian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

LORE

DIRECTOR: Cate Shortland - AUSTRALIA

Lore explores the tribulations faced by the young in the aftermath of World War II. When their Nazi SS parents are arrested by the Allies, five siblings are suddenly left to fend for themselves. Teenaged Lore, the oldest, takes charge, and the children set out on foot to join their grandmother in Hamburg, 500 miles away. Along the arduous journey, they encounter a populace suffering from postwar denial and deprivation and for the first time are exposed to the reality and consequences of their parents’ actions. The children meet Thomas, a young Jewish survivor who helps them negotiate their way...

Lore explores the tribulations faced by the young in the aftermath of World War II. When their Nazi SS parents are arrested by the Allies, five siblings are suddenly left to fend for themselves. Teenaged Lore, the oldest, takes charge, and the children set out on foot to join their grandmother in Hamburg, 500 miles away. Along the arduous journey, they encounter a populace suffering from postwar denial and deprivation and for the first time are exposed to the reality and consequences of their parents’ actions. The children meet Thomas, a young Jewish survivor who helps them negotiate their way but who by their teaching is the enemy, despite his help and allure. A moving film about guilt, for-giveness, and survival, Lore is this year’s Australian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (109 mins.)

NO

DIRECTOR: Pablo Larraín - CHILE

Exploring the moral and spiritual costs of the rule of Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, No follows the exploits of René Saavedra (Gael García Bernal), a clever advertising executive appointed by the opposing coalition to spearhead the “no” campaign in the 1988 referendum. Intent on revealing Pinochet’s human rights atrocities, Saavedra insists that the way to overcome voter fear is with glitzy, jingle-filled spots that promise that “no” is simply a vote for “happiness.” Liberally peppered with black comedy, the film reveals not only the hypocrisy of the regime but that of the left-leaning opposition and the cynical advertising world...

Exploring the moral and spiritual costs of the rule of Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, No follows the exploits of René Saavedra (Gael García Bernal), a clever advertising executive appointed by the opposing coalition to spearhead the “no” campaign in the 1988 referendum. Intent on revealing Pinochet’s human rights atrocities, Saavedra insists that the way to overcome voter fear is with glitzy, jingle-filled spots that promise that “no” is simply a vote for “happiness.” Liberally peppered with black comedy, the film reveals not only the hypocrisy of the regime but that of the left-leaning opposition and the cynical advertising world manipulations as well. Shooting on video cameras used during the era allows Larraín to seamlessly blend archival footage and to visually riff on the aesthetics of the microwave and soft drink commercials appropriated for the campaign. (118 mins.)

Filmography: Fuga (06), Tony Manero (08), Post Mortem (10)

This year’s Chilean submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

OUR CHILDREN

DIRECTOR: Joachim Lafosse - BELGIUM

Based on the true, headline-news story of Genevieve Lhermitte, Our Children unfolds the riveting story of Murielle (Émilie Dequenne, winner of the Best Actress Award in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section), a Belgian schoolteacher caught in a claustrophobic domestic nightmare. Struggling financially, she and her Moroccan immigrant husband Mounir are forced to move in with his adoptive father, Dr. Pinget. When the couple begin to have children, the house starts to feel small and suffocating, and the pressure to please both men—each domineering in his own way—gradually overwhelms Murielle, leading to a shocking act of liberation....

Based on the true, headline-news story of Genevieve Lhermitte, Our Children unfolds the riveting story of Murielle (Émilie Dequenne, winner of the Best Actress Award in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section), a Belgian schoolteacher caught in a claustrophobic domestic nightmare. Struggling financially, she and her Moroccan immigrant husband Mounir are forced to move in with his adoptive father, Dr. Pinget. When the couple begin to have children, the house starts to feel small and suffocating, and the pressure to please both men—each domineering in his own way—gradually overwhelms Murielle, leading to a shocking act of liberation. This year’s Belgian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Lafosse’s direction of this perverse narrative of patriarchal power and female oppression is like steel wrapped in silk. (111 mins.)

OUR HOMELAND

DIRECTOR: Yong-hi Yang - JAPAN

This year’s Japanese submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar tells the moving story of a family divided by the historic political conflicts between Korea and Japan. During Japan’s colonial rule of Korea before World War II, thousands of Koreans were brought to Japan where they suffered painful discrimination. After the war, thousands chose to be repatriated to North Korea in hope of a better life. Few managed to escape their fateful choice. Japanese-Korean director Yong-hi Yang, born in Japan but from a North Korean family, tells the story of her brother Son-ho, who after living in North Korea...

This year’s Japanese submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar tells the moving story of a family divided by the historic political conflicts between Korea and Japan. During Japan’s colonial rule of Korea before World War II, thousands of Koreans were brought to Japan where they suffered painful discrimination. After the war, thousands chose to be repatriated to North Korea in hope of a better life. Few managed to escape their fateful choice. Japanese-Korean director Yong-hi Yang, born in Japan but from a North Korean family, tells the story of her brother Son-ho, who after living in North Korea for 25 years after leaving Japan at age 16, is given rare permission to visit his Japanese family and receive specialized medical care. Under the tense surveillance of a North Korean agent, Son-ho must come to grips with whether he has a place in either culture. (100 mins.)

PIETA

DIRECTOR: Kim Ki-duk - SOUTH KOREA

Lee Kang-do works as a brutal, merciless loan shark who threatens and cripples those who can’t make their payments. One day, a woman appears on his doorstep claiming to be the mother who abandoned him as a baby. At first he rejects her but eventually quits his job to spend his days recapturing the time lost with her. When she is kidnapped, he must track down the culprit, revisiting all those whom he has hurt in the past, only to discover that his mother is harboring a dark secret of her own. Taking his inspiration from Michelangelo’s Pietà, Kim’s searing,...

Lee Kang-do works as a brutal, merciless loan shark who threatens and cripples those who can’t make their payments. One day, a woman appears on his doorstep claiming to be the mother who abandoned him as a baby. At first he rejects her but eventually quits his job to spend his days recapturing the time lost with her. When she is kidnapped, he must track down the culprit, revisiting all those whom he has hurt in the past, only to discover that his mother is harboring a dark secret of her own. Taking his inspiration from Michelangelo’s Pietà, Kim’s searing, violent meditation probes the depths of human suffering as it explores the themes of guilt and revenge with gripping beauty. (104 mins.)

PURGE

DIRECTOR: Antti Jokinen - FINLAND

Estonia, 1994. Soviet occupation has ended, but not the grip of Stalinist memories or the new hold of the Russian Mafia. Aliide, who has lived through a generation where a sentence to Siberian prison camps was all too regular, encounters Zara, a young girl who has exhaustedly escaped the clutches of sex slavery. Though from different eras, both women are haunted by their own tragic pasts and a dark history that binds them. Based on the award-winning novel of the same title by Sofi Oksanen, this unflinching family drama, a story of sex trafficking, violent abuse, betrayal, and loss, is...

Estonia, 1994. Soviet occupation has ended, but not the grip of Stalinist memories or the new hold of the Russian Mafia. Aliide, who has lived through a generation where a sentence to Siberian prison camps was all too regular, encounters Zara, a young girl who has exhaustedly escaped the clutches of sex slavery. Though from different eras, both women are haunted by their own tragic pasts and a dark history that binds them. Based on the award-winning novel of the same title by Sofi Oksanen, this unflinching family drama, a story of sex trafficking, violent abuse, betrayal, and loss, is this year’s Finnish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (125 mins.)

Selected Filmography: The Resident (11)

Sponsored by the Finlandia Foundation and the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation.

A SIMPLE LIFE

DIRECTOR: Ann Hui - HONG KONG

With perfectly judged performances from Andy Lau and Deanie Ip (winner of the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival), Ann Hui’s moving film looks at the decades-long relationship between a man and his devoted family servant. Ip plays Ah Tao, who has worked for the Leung family for 60 years. For the past decade, the only member of the family left in Hong Kong is Roger (Lau), who works in the film industry. Having cared for Roger from childhood, Ah Tao suffers a stroke and asks to be admitted to a nursing home. There, she becomes part of...

With perfectly judged performances from Andy Lau and Deanie Ip (winner of the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival), Ann Hui’s moving film looks at the decades-long relationship between a man and his devoted family servant. Ip plays Ah Tao, who has worked for the Leung family for 60 years. For the past decade, the only member of the family left in Hong Kong is Roger (Lau), who works in the film industry. Having cared for Roger from childhood, Ah Tao suffers a stroke and asks to be admitted to a nursing home. There, she becomes part of a new family made up of colorful characters. All the while, as roles are reversed, Roger tenderly cares for her as she enters the final phase of her life. Based on a true story, A Simple Life delicately traces a decades-long bond with pathos and humor. (118 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Boat People (82), Song of the Exile (90), Ordinary Heroes (99), All About Love (10)

This year’s Hong Kong submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

UNFAIR WORLD

DIRECTOR: Filippos Tsitos - GREECE

“I don’t want to be unfair,” says hangdog Athens police interrogation specialist Sotiris (Antonis Kafetzopoulos). But in his line of work, and in debt-crisis-gripped Greece, there is little incentive for fairness. After a payment to an informant backfires into a blackmail threat, Sotiris experiences a “disobedient” trigger finger, settling that score ... but the money goes missing. Surely cleaning lady Dora (Theodora Tzimou) must have seen it? Tsitos’s deadpan, absurdly comic crime story won the Best Director and Best Actor Prizes at the San Sebastian Film Festival and is this year’s Greek submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar....

“I don’t want to be unfair,” says hangdog Athens police interrogation specialist Sotiris (Antonis Kafetzopoulos). But in his line of work, and in debt-crisis-gripped Greece, there is little incentive for fairness. After a payment to an informant backfires into a blackmail threat, Sotiris experiences a “disobedient” trigger finger, settling that score ... but the money goes missing. Surely cleaning lady Dora (Theodora Tzimou) must have seen it? Tsitos’s deadpan, absurdly comic crime story won the Best Director and Best Actor Prizes at the San Sebastian Film Festival and is this year’s Greek submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (118 mins.)

WAR WITCH

DIRECTOR: Kim Nguyen - CANADA

War Witch unfolds as a harrowing fairy-tale told by a 14-year-old African child soldier to her unborn son. Taken from her village, Komona is given a hallucinogenic milk that gifts her with a sorceress’s ability to see the ghosts of the fallen. Fighting alongside an albino boy named Magician, she soon comes to understand that her career as “witch” to the rebel leader will only last as long as their victories. The two set off together, putting their violent past behind them as they bond while searching for the white rooster she has demanded as proof of his love. Nguyen...

War Witch unfolds as a harrowing fairy-tale told by a 14-year-old African child soldier to her unborn son. Taken from her village, Komona is given a hallucinogenic milk that gifts her with a sorceress’s ability to see the ghosts of the fallen. Fighting alongside an albino boy named Magician, she soon comes to understand that her career as “witch” to the rebel leader will only last as long as their victories. The two set off together, putting their violent past behind them as they bond while searching for the white rooster she has demanded as proof of his love. Nguyen has interwoven true stories of child soldiers in Burma with footage captured in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fashion a story of touching beauty about the search for love and finding inner peace. (90 mins.)

Filmography: The Marsh (02), Truffe (08), City of Shadows (10)

This year’s Canadian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

WHITE TIGER

DIRECTOR: Karen Shakhnazarov - RUSSIA

World War II is drawing to a close. Furious fighting is exhausting both the Soviet and Nazi forces. The more the Soviet army advances, the more often “White Tiger,” a huge, indestructible Nazi tank, appears on the battlefield. Emerging from the smoke of combat, it ruthlessly destroys the adversary and then swiftly vanishes. The Soviets decide they must build an extraordinary tank—with a team headed by a commander who was nearly burnt alive. Although he no longer remembers his own name, he has gained the ability to understand the mystical language of tanks ... The pursuit of the monster begins....

World War II is drawing to a close. Furious fighting is exhausting both the Soviet and Nazi forces. The more the Soviet army advances, the more often “White Tiger,” a huge, indestructible Nazi tank, appears on the battlefield. Emerging from the smoke of combat, it ruthlessly destroys the adversary and then swiftly vanishes. The Soviets decide they must build an extraordinary tank—with a team headed by a commander who was nearly burnt alive. Although he no longer remembers his own name, he has gained the ability to understand the mystical language of tanks ... The pursuit of the monster begins. Who will win in this duel? “This strange, potent war movie plays like Moby Dick on the Eastern front, with a score by Richard Wagner. The strong aesthetic and suspenseful action sequences should wow audiences worldwide.”—Variety(104 mins.)